EU welcomes Kosovo cut to Serbia tariffs, US says not enough

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Kosovo's decision to partially lift a 100% tariff on Serbian goods was hailed Friday by the European Union but not supported by the United States, which wants the tariff dropped completely.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday said the measure would come into effect from March 15 and would only apply to imported raw materials from neighboring Serbia.

In exchange, Kurti asked Serbia to stop efforts to get countries that have recognized Kosovo as an independent state to revoke their recognition. He also called on Serbia to lift constraints on products and services from Kosovo.

If Serbia complies, he said, Kosovo will abolish the 100% tariff for all Serbian goods two weeks later.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who also is special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations and recently nominated acting national intelligence director, did not support “Kurti’s half measure.”

“Our position is quite clear: the tariffs must be completely dropped. Mr. Kurti is making a serious mistake - and that was made clear to (Kosovo) President (Hashim) Thaci at the While House today,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

The EU welcomed Kurti’s move “as a first step.”

“This step could have a positive effect on restoring regional trade and offer an opening for the resumption of the Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina facilitated by the European Union,” a statement from the EU said.

The 100% tariff on Serbian and Bosnian goods was imposed in November 2018 to counter Serbia's efforts to block Kosovo from joining international organisations.

The move led to the suspension of EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo on normalizing ties that had started in 2011.

Kosovo was formerly a part of Serbia and won...